Importance of retirement benefits in compensation

Retirement benefits represented 4.9 percent of the compensation per hour of full-time employees in construction in March 1999. In comparison, full-time private industry workers earned 3.2 percent of their compensation in retirement benefits on average.

Workers in transportation and public utilities had the second highest percentage of compensation received as retirement benefits—4.5 percent. In the four other industries shown in the chart, the proportion was about the same as or below the average for all industries.